Las Posadas

From December 16^th until the 24^th, the community at San Felipe de Jesus prays a novena in honor of the Holy Family. Known in Spanish as “las posadas” (“posada” means “inn”, as in “there is no room at the inn”), the prayer takes the form of a procession through the streets of the parish. Two children dress as the Virgen Mary (in her ninth month of pregnancy) and the stalwart Joseph, looking for a decent place for the birth of Christ. We arrive at a designated home, where we sing the verses of traditional song (“In the name of God, open up and give us a place to stay!” “We don’t know you! If you don’t leave, we are going to beat you with a stick!” “But I am Joseph and this is Mary the Queen of heaven” “In that case, come on in!” (my translation) and after prayer, enjoy a small party, with tamales, hot chocolate and a piñata for the children. The cold weather is a sharp reminder of the original plight of the Holy Family, and a reminder of how God chose to come amongst us—as a family without a home. (Photos by Michael Seifert)

¡Que Viva la Virgen de Guadalupe!

December 12th is the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. The Mexican Church, especially, celebrates an event that happened 475 years ago, when an Indian named Juan Diego (Cuauhtlatoatzin was his birth name) was visited four times by the Mother of God, who was dressed as an Indian princess. Juan Diego belonged to the recently conquered (“annihilated” would be more exact) Aztec nation, and the message of the Mother of the Christ was of consolation and solidarity. The Blessed Mother asked that the church build a church on a hillside outside of Mexico City, so that those who were living in misery might have a place to go and raise up their laments to heaven. (Image courtesy of the Divine)

The parish remembers this day with an early morning procession. We started out at 3:30AM, some 150 people, amongst them a great number of young people. We carry our own image of la Guadalupana, and walk about five miles to Our Lady of Guadalupe Church. We are accompanied by matachines, Indian dancers, who brought incense and their own special prayers to the moment.

In the evening, the youth group offered a presentation of the apparitions—and the faithful lifted up their particular lamentations to this Woman of God. (Photos by Michael Seifert)

Frontera de Salud

For the past eight years, parishioners of San Felipe de Jesus and residents of Cameron Park have enjoyed the monthly visits of third and fourth year medical students from Frontera de Salud. Sr. Phyllis Peters, DC of Proyecto Juan Diego coordinates the visits and does the follow up care that is so often needed.


The students spend Saturday assisting at a local clinic and doing home visits. On Sunday, after Mass, the students visit with people interested in checking their blood pressure, in testing their blood sugar levels or in having a chat about some medical problem they might be experiencing. The visits are always interesting, if not provocative. This time, the students happened upon a six year old who had had an appendectomy a month ago. The little girl had continued with abdominal pain, which twice brought her to the emergency room. The complaints continued and the little girl was in pain when the students arrived. A call to the emergency room, a conversation with the attending physician and a check of the records revealed that she had not had a CAT scan, a routine procedure for this sort of complaint. Some complaining, this time on the part of the medical students,
brought the little girl back to the medical authorities’ attention. Perhaps she has some pockets of infection, or a small sponge that stayed behind—in any case, she is being seen again—and her case is being taken seriously. At the end of the Sunday clinic, the students are invited to Mass, where the community prays for them--and prays that some day they come back as medical professionals.

November Feasts

The church gathers on Nov 2 to remember those of our beloved who have gone to their rest.

On the border, this is a particular day. An altar is prepared, with symbols and rituals that date back centuries. The altar blesses the absence in life created by death. It serves as well as a subtle bridge between our present and the memories of what is now past.

There are chrysanthemums, or "cempasuchil" in the Aztec language, a flower whose bright colors are thought to guide the dead home.

Glasses of water and bread are placed on the altar for those deceased who might suffer thirst or hunger as they make their way to God. Candles give off the light of hope and photos that remind us in a vivid way of those whom we miss so much.

Our first celebration took place on the Mexican side of the border, in the front yard of generous family (the local priest had closed the church to the community). Mostly women and children (the men are still at work) gathered at dusk and in the midst of mosquitos, the stench from the local sewer and the noise of a busy neighborhood street, prayed for those who had passed on.

The second celebration takes place in the parish in Brownsville. The church filled up with families. A list is made of over 350 names (all of which are read aloud). With each name, a family stands up, until the church is filled with people aware, again, that death is not the final word.